


Helpless

by ShadeOfAzmeinya



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grand Theft Auto Setting, Angst, Attempted Kidnapping, Canon-Typical Violence, Fake AH Crew, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Non-Consensual Drug Use, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-28 22:31:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8465440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadeOfAzmeinya/pseuds/ShadeOfAzmeinya
Summary: It’s “Bev Night” for the crew, which means they’re all dragged out to some bar that Geoff and Gavin love and get all various degrees of wasted until Ryan and Jack have to haul all their asses back home.It's all going well until something gets slipped into Ryan's drink and the world spins out from under his feet.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Major major thanks to the lovely [miss-ingno ](miss-ingno.tumblr.com)for beta-ing this fic and making it a thousand times better than it was.

It’s “Bev Night” for the crew, which means they’re all dragged out to some bar that Geoff and Gavin love and get all various degrees of wasted until Ryan and Jack have to haul all their asses back home. 

Their current Bev Night location is a smaller bar on the outskirts of the city, simple and much calmer than Geoff and Gavin’s usual choices. With the lights dimmed and music faded, it actually was kind of a nice place. Could actually be kind of a nice night. Ryan sits at the bar, watching his lovers make fools of themselves. The lads have apparently decided to try their hands at pool though Ryan doubts any of them actually know how to play. Jack and Geoff are sitting together in a corner, Jack in Geoff’s lap, whispering to each other and grinning. A fond smile on settles onto Ryan's face as he watches them all.

“Hey there, handsome,” a strange woman’s voice pops up as she sits down next to Ryan.

“Uh, hi,” Ryan says, shifting away from her and feeling suddenly very exposed without his mask or facepaint. He immediately wishes Michael hadn’t convinced him not to wear either of them. 

“You come here alone?” the woman continues, taking a sip from her drink and fluttering her eyes at Ryan.

“No actually, I’m with someone,” he says firmly. 

The woman deflates a little, dropping the flirtatious act. “Damn. Well, I hope you don’t mind a small chat anyway? My friend dragged me here to try to pick up guys, and as long as I’m appearing to do so, she promises to leave me alone.”

“Sure?” Ryan says, still fidgeting in his seat. But the lady gives him a nicer smile, and it’s not like Ryan is going anywhere anytime soon. He gives it about one more hour before Michael and Jeremy start a fight and they’ll all have to head home. Maybe less judging by the frustrated looks Michael keeps throwing at Gavin.

“Name’s Amanda,” she says extending a hand.

“James,” Ryan replies, shaking her hand and feeling no reason to give the name he goes by. Paranoia is a strong part of the job and isn’t one to be shaken easily. 

The two chat a while, mild things like the weather, the local sports team. It becomes pretty obvious neither had anything in common, but Amanda keeps talking regardless. Ryan orders a drink (non-alcoholic of course) and only half pays attention as she talks, stealing glances at his lovers every now and then.

Ryan’s first clue should’ve been the slight bitter aftertaste in his drink. But he doesn’t even remember what he ordered and chalks it up to whatever is in his cup. Maybe alcohol was accidentally mixed in, he can’t be sure. The calm of having a night off and of watching those he loves have a good time lulls him into a false sense of safety that Ryan will hate himself for later.

His next clue should’ve been the smirk in Amanda’s smile, like she knew something he didn’t. The way she keeps glancing over his shoulder, the way she keeps forcing conversation. But it’s been a while since Ryan’s talked to strangers and he’s never been good at it anyway, so it all goes over his head.

By the time Ryan does notice that something’s wrong it’s too late, the room starting to spin, and Amanda is pressing closer to him, asking him if he’s alright and saying she should take him outside for some fresh air. His legs don’t feel like his own as he follows her, his arm over her shoulders and her hand on his lower back gently pushing him towards the back entrance. 

The second they’re outside they are surrounded by people. Ryan can’t think, nothing makes sense anymore. Amanda talks to them in commanding voice, and that seems wrong, her voice is off, this wasn’t- _Where’s Geoff?_ he thinks through the haze, trying to disentangle himself from the woman. _Where are the others?_ _I shouldn’t be out here._ They pounce on him the second he starts struggling. The world becomes a blur- Ryan fighting, growling at them, kicking at them. But his movements are too slow, too sluggish and then it dawns on him that he’s been drugged. They gain the upper hand on him easily. Ryan can’t say how many there are, maybe three maybe thirty he can’t get enough clarity to count. Can’t get enough clarity to fight them all at once and they know it.

Ryan snaps and snarls and slashes and scratches as he fights them. It takes them forever to tie his hands together, and he keeps fighting them even as they force him down to his knees. At one point he gets an arm free, grabs one of them by the neck and twists with all his strength. A horrific crack echoes through the alley. Ryan doesn’t even watch the body hit the ground, immediately scrabbling for another. But the others capture his arms again, ropes biting into his skin as they force him onto his stomach on the ground. 

And then there’s pain. Sharp and white and strong and Ryan howls as they pull the knife out that dug into his side. His entire brain just fills with pain, pain, _pain_ -

Ryan gnashes his teeth and tries to keep fighting. Fight through the drug and the pain that were making it too muddy to think, making his limbs too heavy to move. Someone is putting pressure on his back to keep him down, and then there’s a boot on his head, pressing the side of his face against the harsh pavement, gravel digging into his skin, the reek of tar clouding his nose, and the sound of harsh laughter above him. 

There’s no escape, Ryan realizes as panic builds up inside, taking away his breath; he’s either going to die here or wherever they take him. He isn’t going to survive this. 

 _Geoff_ , he thinks desperately. _Jack, Michael, Gavin, Jere-_

There’s another round of laughter, some teasing tone from the figures holding him down. Ryan squeezes his eyes shut because he doesn’t want to give them the satisfaction of seeing the fear in them. And his vision is only swirls and shapes and blotches, shot to hell and worthless to try to keep open.

Then more voices fill the alley, a distortion of yelling and screaming and then there’s the thunder of gunfire and something warm and heavy falls on top of Ryan, hot liquid leaking over his hands, his arms – _blood?_ Ryan tries to shake them off, _it has to be a body, right?_ He doesn’t know, still can’t think quite like normal. He curls into himself, protecting what he can from the new chaos erupting around him.

Then there’s a sudden silence ringing in his head, Ryan’s erratic breathing and heartbeat the only thing he can hear. The cold of the night is seeping in through his clothes, his breath foggy as it leaves his body. Everything feels surreal, the drum of his heart beating in his ear and through his throat, blood pounding against the binds wrapped around his wrists. Everything seems to still for a second, forever, _was it always this still?_ and then- Footsteps approach him, loud as they crunch against the asphalt. A voice speaks above him and Ryan’s gripped by the sudden fear of what they could do to him next. Ryan stiffens in anticipation, dread filling every inch of him-

And then the ties around his straining arms are broken, snapped whether from himself or someone cutting them he doesn’t know and doesn’t care to find out and Ryan’s eyes snap open. Now’s his chance. Suddenly running and getting away is the only thing on his mind, the only thing he needs to do, can do. Survive. Find somewhere to hide, somewhere safe. A place to stay until his mind stops turning, until the world makes sense again. _Can’t let them have me,_ he thinks fuzzily. _I need_ _Geoff. Jack. Gavin, Michael, Jeremy-_

He turns around suddenly and punches the person-sized blur standing over him right across the face. They stumble back and Ryan tries to make a break for it. But the drug has taken away any semblance of balance and Ryan lurches to the wall, leaning against it and just barely avoiding falling over completely. His side stings and his lungs burn and his legs are jelly and he can’t run and he’s fucked, he’s screwed, he’s going to die here, he’s going to die-

“Ryan.”

He freezes as that sound pierces through the noise in his head, slowly turning towards the origin of that voice. He recognizes it. It’s a voice that means safety, means protection. A pair of soft eyes are looking at him, crowned by red hair and a worried expression.

“Ryan it’s us, it’s ok,” Jack says as she takes a step towards him. 

She reaches out to him and Ryan flinches back, hissing as the movement pulls on his wound. Jack freezes, worry setting deeper into her face and Ryan’s gaze drops. His breathing is erratic and he’s shaking and _he can’t breathe_ \- He can’t get enough air, can’t get his heart to stop beating loud in his ears- _it’s so loud_ \- and his vision is darkening, even as he blinks it's still a hazy and mess and he can’t _see_ anything. His movements are sluggish, slow as he looks around, trying to make out the blurred shadows surrounding him and Jack, trying to make sense but he’s just chasing his own thoughts, not able to grab any of them, not able to make sense of any of them. He grips his wounded side, burning and stinging under his touch. He looks down at his hand, crimson staining his fingers- blood. _His_ blood- and he realizes with a sinking, nauseous feeling that he could still die, he’s still going to die-

“What’s wrong with him?”

Another voice says. Ryan recognizes this one too, something familiar that tickles the back of his brain, but everything’s too faded, mind too hazy to put a name to that voice, to give it a face. All that comes to mind is the smell of gunpowder and the roar of a minigun and the bright lights of an explosion.

“I… I don’t know.”

Ryan doesn’t know who says that either, the world growing darker and his legs can’t hold him up anymore, and he collapses onto his hands with a bitten back curse. There’s a shout of something, something hazy, something slurred, he can’t tell anymore, can’t understand _anything_ \- He tries to pull himself back up but his arms aren’t working, legs aren’t responding, _nothing’s working_ and he collapses.

There’s another shout of his name as the world goes black.

\--

Jack has never seen Ryan like that. She doesn’t think any of them have ever seen him like that. So wild and scared, like an animal caught in a steel trap. Ryan was never that terrified, never held so much pure and unadulterated fear in those blue eyes.

Ryan is the calm in the chaos, the cold determination in any situation, the one to find a solution even if everything seems hopeless. Even when he’s scared, he would never express it so vividly. Never scream and fight like how they saw. Never howl like that.

It shook the rest of the crew to their very core.

Jack sits besides Ryan as he lays across their bed, his side bandaged and covers thrown over him. She watches his features as she runs a hand through his hair. He seems much calmer now than he did earlier, tossing and turning with a pained look as nightmares taunted him in his unconsciousness. He looks almost peaceful as he sleeps now. 

He hasn’t woken up since he’s passed out in the alley, shaking and staring at them with naked fear and no flicker of recognition in his eyes as he stared at them. Didn’t wake up as they carried him to the car and home and patched him up. He groaned in pain every once and a while but then would pass out again, dead to the world. Jack has been constantly checking his breathing and his heartbeat to make sure he was still stable, still _alive_.

The arriving back to the penthouse had left them all trying to figure out _what the hell happened._ Gavin made quick work of checking through all the security footage of the bar as the others paced, trying to piece together the night, trying to find the steps that led to Ryan being so scared, so out of his mind. It’s Gavin who discovers the answers, finding the camera footage of the bartender slipping something into Ryan’s drink and the woman sitting next to Ryan deliberately leading him out of the place afterwards. 

Showing the footage to the rest of the crew resulted in two shattered bottles, a hole in the wall, and three of them leaving with guns, explosives, and thoughts only of violent, bloody revenge.

Jack and Gavin stayed behind to watch over Ryan. Gavin has fallen asleep a while ago, curled on the other side of the bed away from Ryan to not accidentally wake him and cause a startled Ryan to swing wildly and punch him. Again.

Jack sighs as she watches them, going through the night’s events again in her mind. She’s glad she noticed Ryan was missing. Glad she convinced Geoff that something wasn’t right with Ryan’s sudden disappearance. Glad they came outside when they did, getting there just in time to stop the potential kidnapping, to stop them from hurting him more. She just wishes she had noticed sooner. Noticed the slipped drink, noticed the person chatting Ryan up only to drag him outside to be ambushed. She should’ve been quicker, should’ve been more observant, should’ve been better.

The front door opens as the sun starts rising over the horizon, the sound of Geoff, Michael, and Jeremy talking lowly as they shuffle inside. She hears the two lads make a beeline for the bathrooms, no doubt covered in dirt, grime, and blood. Geoff comes towards the bedroom, creaking the door open and peaking inside to check up on Ryan. 

Jack gives him a tired smile, small and only just covering the worry etched into her face, an uneasiness clearly mirrored in Geoff’s own face.

“How’s he doing?” Geoff whispers, sitting down next to her. 

“Alright. Still hasn’t woken up. Whatever he’s on is a strong one…”

Geoff wraps an arm around her, pulling her close and pressing a quick kiss against her temple. “He’s going to be alright. We found what they drugged him with, drop it off at Caleb’s, he says it’ll wear off eventually and he’ll be alright.”

Jack nods, leaning against Geoff.

The two sit in silence for a moment, watching Ryan’s chest rise and fall. Steady and even in his sleep.

“Did you find who did this to Ryan? Did you find out why?” Jack whispers into the silence, gaze still on Ryan.

That’s been the last question she needs an answer for. _Why._ Why they went after Ryan, why they did this to him. He wasn’t even the Vagabond. He wasn’t wearing the mask, wasn’t wearing his facepaint. God he looked like an innocent civilian, he was supposed to be out of danger. They all were. Did they think they could use him for ransom? Maybe they knew Geoff; maybe they saw the expensive gold Gavin was flashing. Maybe they saw Ryan kissing Geoff, saw him wrap his arms around Gavin and figured the two would pay good money to get Ryan back. Maybe saw Ryan with all of them-

“Human traffickers,” Geoff explains, voice and expression grim. “They were part of a human trafficking ring.”

“Oh,” Jack breathes out. Jack doesn’t know if that makes her feel better or worse. Either way her stomach twists at thoughts of what could have happened with her boyfriend, with their boyfriend, if they hadn’t come in time. 

There’s another beat of silence as Geoff and Jack continue watch Ryan’s breathing.

“Did you make them pay?” Jack whispers, tone laced with a cold, vengeful anger.

Geoff smiles, danger and pride in his eyes. “Of course we did. They’re not going to hurt anyone else ever again and their… associates will know better. No one’s coming after any of us anytime soon. We made sure of it.”

Jack gives him a tight smile, fingers lovingly carding through Ryan’s hair. “Good.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on my [tumblr](shadeofazmeinya.tumblr.com)! I fill prompts there every once and a while.


End file.
